"I'm telling you stories. Trust me." - Winterson

Lissa turned
her horse to follow the wizard Zander across the camp, nodding to people as
they passed through. It was Illian's
turn to be her shadow again tonight, and he followed without question or
comment.

They left
camp and rode toward the quickly setting sun.
Her eyes adjusted to the dim light easily enough, but soon she was
relying on her horse to follow as she could hardly see Zander in front of her.

Zander’s
voice, when he spoke, seemed exceptionally loud in the silence of the night
even though in reality it was barely more than a whisper. “Highness, you know what I’m looking for?”

“Yes,” she
answered after realizing he couldn't see her nod.

“It is here
somewhere. There is a chance you might
be better able to find it than I. You should
be able to communicate with the earth the same way you speak to the dragons.”

Speak to
the earth the way she spoke to the dragons.
Right. Hi earth, how you doin'? She
smiled, amused by her own smart-ass attempt.
The only answer she received was a crunch of grass as her mare snagged a
bite to eat. But she acknowledged that
wasn't going to get them anywhere. Zander
said she had the skill; he didn't, so he couldn't teach her to use it. She was on her own, but she’d been on her own
before.

Speak to
the earth the way she spoke to the dragons.
Okay, so how did she speak to the dragons? She brought the image of her dragon, Dezian, to
mind. Can you hear me? She asked.

Yes highness, how can I serve you? The voice was fainter than she was
used to, but no less majestic.

Don’t come here, she said, warding off any instinct the dragon
might have; Dezian showing up would not aid

their stealth mission. I need
to talk to the earth; do you know how to do that?

It is no different than us talking. Just open your mind and listen. The earth is far older; it speaks

slower and
only when necessary. Be patient.

Thank you Dezian. She
didn't really know how to apply what she’d just been told, but at least she’d
been paying conscious attention to how she spoke to her dragon. First she had to visualize her; then she could
communicate.

She
dismounted, somehow knowing it was the right thing to do. Illian appeared behind her and she gave him
her reins.

“Your
highness?” he asked as she stepped away from him.

“I’m not
going far,” she took only a few more steps to a tree bigger than any she’d ever
seen at home, but of average height here, and ran a hand softly down its
bark. She sat at its base, leaning back
against it. Her legs were stretched out
in front of her and her hands lay softly at her sides. One, resting on a dirt patch, the other on
slightly damp moss. She closed her eyes.

Great and mighty earth, she said, serious this time and her
tone one of pure respect. Would you do me the honour of sharing your
knowledge?

She waited
patiently, focusing on her breathing.
Slowly inhale, pause, and exhale – as though she were preparing to
meditate. Without her vision, her other
senses became more attune. The moss
seemed softer under her hand. She could
smell the dirt, but also the rain that had fallen hours earlier and a whiff of
a flower somewhere nearby. Her ears
heard the songs of the crickets calling; she felt like she understood their
longing, but could do nothing to remedy it.
An owl hooted somewhere far in the distance and a wolf howled; the two
couldn't possibly have been connected, but somehow it seemed as though they
were communicating with each other. But
she couldn't quite grasp what they said.

She tried
to close her ears to the night, listening only to the sound of her own
breath. Inhale, pause, exhale. She lost track of time. She could've been sitting there minutes or
hours. Inhale, pause, What is it you seek?
She was startled, because she hadn't really expected to receive a
response, but exhaled just as calmly, focusing on maintaining her meditative
state.

This did happen, it wasn't so much a voice as a memory. The image of a much younger forest floated
through her mind. She was having trouble
separating the earth’s thoughts from her own.

I would really appreciate knowing where the
entrance to the tunnel is, she thought in-between breaths.

You already have this knowledge, and while that answer should have
both surprised and frustrated her, it didn't.
Because it was correct. She found
she had the knowledge of this forest and all it had seen since the days when it
was nothing but weeds and dirt. She knew
of the trees that had grown mighty, only to be felled by an axe. She knew of the animals and their reliance on
one another in their life circle. And
she knew of the people – those who had loved, those who had killed, and
everybody in-between. Watching eons of
history flip through her mind in seconds she continued to focus on her
breathing and paused when she saw a boulder being moved, a tunnel being
sealed. And she knew, better than she’d
known her own home, exactly where the tunnel Zander sought was.

Thank you for this gift, meaning so much more than thank
you. Is
there anything I can do for you, majesty?
She doubted the title was correct, but it seemed to suit and she hoped
at very least it wouldn't offend.

Use your tunnel, Lissa, and then restore this
forest to those who belong here. She was unsurprised to hear her
given name used; what was a queen next to the earth?

Thanks! Hopefully by the end of summer the whole thing will be available :)

If you're interested, the piece that started it all is available online. Some changes have been made in the writing (tense/names/etc) but the concept remains:http://laurencude.blogspot.ca/2010/05/fridayflash-37-summer-day_28.html

About this blog

“Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small jumps." - George

“…I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” - Frost

The above tenets are basically how I live my life - much to the amusement of friends and family. Stared with documenting the life of an adult working student, followed through starting and running a riding school, and is now telling the stories of my adventures in adulting.